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This past weekend, the E.U. Ministers promised the next tranche of money to Greece and a second bailout package if Greece enforces another bout of austerity on itself. Does this clear the E.U. of its obligations? They have not yet finalized these terms and await the next episode in Greece of its acceptance of this principle.  

A default by Greece will set off a chain of events that would bring down important banks as well as Portugal, Ireland and Spain, with Italy stepping onto the same stage. Furthermore, a default shows that even governments have to pay their bills, if they want the financial system to work.  

The issues involved are significant. The consequences are even more far-reaching...

To evaluate what is the best way to own Gold and Silver we need to look at the options.  The options are Physical Gold/Silver, Gold/Silver Mining Shares or Gold/Silver Mutual Funds.

I didn’t include Gold/Silver ETFs because it tracks the physical price with a few major differences.  I looked at values dating back both 1 year, and to the beginning of 2011, to calculate the results. 

I used the following as true indicators of the market prices:

Spot Gold and Silver Prices,
Gold Mining Share Index (GDX)
Fidelity Select Gold Shares Mutual Fund (FSAGX)
Silver Mining Share Index (SIL)

HERE ARE THE RAW STATISTICS...

China may diversify $3.04 trillion in reserves and invest in gold, silver, and copper. 

China’s foreign exchange reserves increased by US$197.4 billion in the first three months of this year to $3.04 trillion .

China is now the world’s biggest consumer of gold. China is also the biggest producer of gold. China produced...

There are several lessons to be taken from the fiscal crisis of 2008 and the ensuing recession. Not least among them is the simple fact that the US government is willing to do nearly whatever it takes to stave off recession, even if it means systematically destroying the dollar. As the crisis unwound, the government created money to prop up Fannie and Freddy. They created money to bailout AIG and a handful of banks. They created money for the “stimulus” package. Then they created money through “quantitative easing” not once, but twice. The pattern is clear: the only real tool at the government’s disposal is the creation of money, and they are not afraid to use it....

Published: April 12, 2011

After former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was appointed in 1979, the consumer price index surged into the double digits, causing the now revered Fed Chief to double the benchmark interest rate in order to break the back of inflation. Using the methodology in place at that time puts the CPI back near those levels.

Inflation, using the reporting methodologies in place before 1980, hit an annual rate of...

For gold miners, success has been anything but fun lately.

Everything these companies prayed for a decade ago, they got. Collapsing global currencies. A gold price rising from US$250 an ounce to more than US$1,500. Incredible earnings and cash flow growth. It played out exactly as the gold bugs said it would, and then some.

Yet, you won’t find many gold CEOs with smiles on their faces these days, because..

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The American working middle class (Good) have been deceived by the Federal Reserve, the banks that control them (Bad) and the Washington DC political class (Ugly) into believing that a fiat currency, un-backed by gold, supported by systematic inflation is beneficial to their wealth. This has been the Big Lie for the last century and has positioned the country for an epic...

China is on a gold drive and it has overtaken India as the world’s largest purchaser of gold at 90.9 million tons in gold bars and coins for Q1, 2011. This is up 123% from 40.7 tons last year for the same period. India meanwhile has purchased only 85.6 tons of gold this year.

There are seven factors that drive Chinese gold demand, according to the recent World Gold Council Report:..

Mexico, Russia and Thailand added gold now valued at about 6 billion US dollars to their reserves in the first quarter of 2011 as metal prices advanced to a record, the dollar weakened and US Treasuries lost investors money.

Mexico bought 93.3 metric tons since January, increasing holdings from about 6.9 tons, according to data from the IMF and the Central bank later said it purchased 100 tons in recent months. Russia increased reserves...